Ice Cream Shop New Employee Training

Why It’s Important for Your Business and Customers

Ice cream shop new employee training shouldn’t be over looked or underestimated. Well trained employees should be able to keep your customers happy and coming back for more.

If you need an eye exam or want to go on a train trip, you expect the optician or the train conductor to have been trained in what they do.

The same should apply to many other lines of businesses. That includes if you’re considering opening an ice cream shop.

Put yourself in the place of the customer for a few minutes and take this into consideration. Would you want to be served by someone who is clean, sure of them self, polite and serves you with a smile. Conversely, do you want someone that looks a bit lost, surly or uncooperative? Without customers, you won’t have a business. It’s safe to say it’s crucial your staff is trained adequately to keep the customers walking through the doors.

A Few Tips for Ice Cream Shop New Employee Training

Create the Right Environment

There’s a lot of research that shows the happier your employees are in their work, the better they’ll communicate and interact with other people. Before you start any training with your employees you need to make sure that you create an environment that’s good for them in which to work. You should never chastise them in front of the public. Alternatively, praise them in front of the customers.

Always remember your staff will learn by the example you set. You need to treat members of the workforce and your customers with respect if that’s how you want them to behave.

Choosing the Right Staff

When you have to hire someone, the first item you should consider is their personality. In an ice cream shop they need to be able to chat with the customers and make the visit a fun experience. If they have an engaging personality, they’ll be able to interact with customers of all ages.

Many of today’s youth have grown up with social media. Ask them how to share, like or comment on a post. You’ll find out they are very skilled in that arena. However, sometimes they’ll lack the social skills needed for an ice cream shop. This may be something they will develop with age. Therefore, try to find staff that already has the required social skills.

Hiring a senior citizen who is attempting to supplement their retirement income can be a very big plus for your shop. They usually have the much needed life experience. As a result, this will complement a history of their work experiences. This can prove to be very beneficial for your younger employees as well as your business.

Often business owners have friends and relatives that have family members looking for a job. You could be the obvious choice for them to approach. You should never hire anyone that you’re not prepared to fire no matter how much it upsets the family.

Probationary Training

Most businesses have a grace period of a couple of weeks for the new employee to be trained. This allows for you to decide if they’ll fit in with your store. During this time you can place them in different positions to find out the best fit for that employee. For the first week or so they should shadow someone who is very experienced. This can be the best way for them to learn the ropes.

You always have to be aware that no one will know the business better than you. You know exactly how you want your customers to be treated. As the business owner, it’s up to you to create the culture! If you can be the person they shadow, they will possibly learn more than being with another employee.

They need to know they always have to be clean, wash their hands often and have long hair tied back. These are just the basics of working within the food service industry. Within a couple of weeks, you’ll know if it’s worth investing any more time in them. If it is, then the training should continue throughout their employment.

Ongoing Training

Often an employee will become lackadaisical and believe they know all that they need to know! However, bad habits can form if you don’t continue to implement training. They’ll need to know how to use the equipment safely, how much of a measure to give to customers and what to do if a customer complains.

It seems that the ice creams shops that train staff successfully have an hour a week at minimum with the staff. It doesn’t matter about their level of experience. The employees need to get together for regular training sessions. This allows for minor, or major, problems to be sorted out. Additionally, it lets the staff have their say on anything they feel needs addressing.

Wrapping Up Ice Cream Shop New Employee Training

A well-trained workforce will aid in keeping your customers happy. Happy customers will return to your shop on a continual basis. There are many aspects to running a successful business. Paramount should be the preliminary and ongoing training of your staff.

As an ice cream shop consultant, Tony Carey has been involved in the training of many employees for new store openings across the U.S. He’d be happy to discuss any situation on which you need advice concerning your employees. Please feel free to reach out to Tony.